Native advertising in Qatar: Now is the time to start

The Internet continues to be one of the key drivers of economic development in Qatar and in the Middle East, transforming and redefining commercial transactions and influencing societal dynamics. Naturally, with so many people in Qatar and in the Middle East spending increasingly long hours consuming information on the Internet, new advertising methods and other integrated forms of communication are becoming ever more important as well, writes Suha Mardelli Haroun. 

In the past decade, thanks to increased connectivity through smartphones and more accessible data plans, the Internet has become an indispensable and ubiquitous part of our modern-day life. Digital advertising spend is already big, and becoming larger. In 2015, it reached USD560 million (QAR2 billion), of which USD400 million (QAR1.5 billion) comes from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and is increasing at 37 percent per year to reach an astounding USD1 billion (QAR364 billion) in 2017. Search accounted for 44 percent of digital spend, while display accounted for 33 percent, including native advertising.
Native advertising is a type of tactic in which advertisements are meant to mimic editorial content. This kind of advertising content not only attracts the consumer’s attention, but also offers something genuinely interesting or entertaining, and enhances user engagement with the advertisement.

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